Botched conversion kills Air Force's rally

Joseph White, Associated Press

December 28, 2011

WASHINGTON — Even the youngest head coach in the country knows not to expect the conventional from Air Force. After all, the Falcons already had scored three fourth-down touchdowns, including the one that had just tied the Military Bowl with 52 seconds to play.

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So 32-year-old Matt Campbell, leading Toledo for the first time, wasn't surprised when Air Force lined up to kick the extra point and then ran a fake, going for two to win the game instead of sending it to overtime.

The Rockets were ready.

Holder David Baska got bottled up trying to run the option. The ball squirted toward kicker Parker Herrington, who chased it until it went out of bounds in the end zone, and Toledo started celebrating its 42-41 victory Wednesday night at RFK Stadium.

“We talked about it, first and foremost, because they fake some extra points and fake some field goals,” said Campbell, the Toledo offensive coordinator who was promoted this month to the head job after Tim Beckman left for Illinois. “Ironically, we were in the same situation last year in our bowl game. I give credit to our staff. We got ourselves into a defensive call. We were not in a ‘block' look.”

Toledo succeeded in taking a one-point lead with a two-point conversion near the end of last year's Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, but the Rockets lost to Florida International on a field goal on the game's final play.

This time, the wild ending went their way.

Bernard Reedy's third touchdown of the game — a 37-yard catch, spin and run on a pass from Terrance Owens — gave Toledo a 42-35 lead with 5:01 remaining and put the Rockets (9-4) over the 40-point mark for a sixth straight game.

“We have 1,000 playmakers on our team,” said Reedy, who had a career-high 126 yards receiving on four catches and was the game's MVP. “You never know who's going to step up.”

The game matched two of the top 25 scoring teams in the country, and they wasted little time living up to their reputations. It was Mid-American Conference member Toledo's spread offense against Mountain West Air Force's triple option, and the idea of a huddle seemed a quaint, antiquated concept.

Back and forth they went. A kickoff return for 87 yards. A pitch around the left end for 60. Touchdown passes for 49 and 37 yards. A pair of botched onside kicks.

And that was just the first half.

Toledo's Adonis Thomas finished with 108 yards on 22 carries. Paul Hornung Award finalist Eric Page caught 13 passes for 59 yards, but his biggest play was an 87-yard kickoff return in the first half.

Owens, getting most of the work at quarterback, completed 19 of 24 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns. Owens got the nod over Austin Dantin, who started the first 10 games of the season before sitting out the last two with a concussion.